From the Ashes
by aeriabuchari
Summary: The call to Earth has gone out.  One femme has heard it.  This is her story.
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS. I ONLY CLAIM TITANIA.

The following story is pure _fan fiction_. Also, this chapter is mainly just information. From chapter two onwards begins the actual story. The story will be told in first person unless otherwise stated. There is a list of Autobots and their alternate forms included; and as there are several to choose from I simply picked which mode I liked best. So yes, there is a mix and match of forms. If you would like to see an Autobot not listed, you have but to ask and I will try to incorperate him/her in. Otherwise, I sincerely hope you enjoy!

Name: Titania.

Gender: Femme.

Last planet visited: Cybertron—after her escape from Tyger Pax has been in stasis; only came online when she intercepted Optimus Prime's call to all Autobots. She set a course to Earth and then entered stasis once more to conserve Energon.

Current allegiance: Autobot—formerly of the Decepticons; has the Decepticon symbol engraved on her helm.

Alt. mode: ?

Profession before the war: Electrical engineer.

Role during the war: ?

Sparkmate: ?

Spark interest: ?

More information about Titania to be revealed as the story progresses.

Autobots in use (and their alt. forms): **Optimus Prime** (red/blue Peterbilt 379 semi-trailer truck), **Bumblebee** (amber/black 2011 5th generation Chevy Camaro), **Ratchet** (green/grey search and rescue Hummer H2), **Ironhide** (black modified GMC C4500 Topkick), **Sideswipe** and **Sunstreaker** (silver and yellow Lamborghini Gallardo respectively), **Prowl** (blue/white Nissan 350Z police edition), **Jazz** (gunmetal grey modified Pontiac Solstice GXP), **Wheeljack** (dark blue Mercedes-Benz W212), **Mirage** (red Ferrari 458 Italia), **Blurr** (blue Maserati MC12), **Hound** (dark green Jeep Wrangler), **Skyfire** (black F-14 Tomcat), **Silverstreak** (silver Concorde SST jet liner), **Skids** (green/black Chevy Beat), **Mudflap** (red/black Chevy Trax), **Red Alert** (red/white/blue 2005 Dodge Magnum emergency vehicle), **Ultra Magnus** (red/white/blue Freightliner car carrier), **Arcee** (pink Ducati 848 superbike), **Chromia** (blue Suzuki B-King motorbike), **Elita-1** (purple MV Agusta F4 series), **Jolt** (blue Chevy Volt), **Leadfoot** (Juan Pablo Montoya Impala), **Roadbuster** (Dale Earnhardt Jr. Impala), **Topspin** (Jimmie Johnson Impala).

Units of time: **Breem** = 8.3 minutes **Joor** = 1 hour **Orn** = 13 days **Vorn** = 83 years

(As taken from: http: / transformers. wikia .com / wiki / Units_of_time)


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS. I ONLY OWN TITANIA.

(Third-Person POV)

_**::ATTENTION ALL AUTOBOTS: INCOMING, POSSIBLE FRIENDLY. T.O.A. APROXIMITELY 0230 TWO DAYS TIME::**_

The announcement repeated itself over the Autobot internal comm. system, allowing all 'bots the chance to hear it. And then it was announced over the external P.A system for the human's convenience at the army base _Diego Garcia_. For the better part of last year to now, after the events in Mission City and Egypt, the Autobots have slowly been amassing; all coming to fall under the command of Optimus Prime—the last known living Prime.

Unfortunately for the Autobots and their human allies, as they have been gathering forces so too have the Decepticons. Even worse, the Autobots were outnumbered by nearly four to one. And that did not include the various drones, mini-bots, and Megatron. Add those in; the odds went to almost _seven_ to one. Things did not look good for the Autobots. Their human allies—brave they may be, _numerous_ they may be—could not make up the difference.

The Autobots needed help. They were seeking assistance in whatever form they could find. Even if that form included the dreaded symbol of their most ferocious foes.

(Normal POV)

"Systems check!" I growled out, beating the rather fragile equipment in front of me when red warning lights flickered back. "Frag it! Emergency back-up…why the slag aren't you workin'?" I smacked the instruments again, garnering a loud hiss and crack from them.

I swiveled around in my cockpit chair, checking my point-of-entry route. I was off…_way_ off. This was going to hurt. And probably it would be getting pretty hot around here sometime soon.

"Glitchin' machine. I _knew_ I should have double-checked this piece of scrap metal first hand. _'Never trust a Decepticon. They focus all their attention on their weapons…never on anything else.'_ Primus do I believe that now! You'd think they'd realize a ship is just as important as a cannon but _noooo_. Slaggin' scrap metal, junkyard piles of fragmented, glitchy Cybertronian waste!"

In a move of pure frustration and extremely _bad_ judgment, I formed a small blaster on my right arm and shot the dashboard in front of me.

Was there a bunch of smoke? Yes.

Small fire? Yup.

Warning alarms freaking out? Oh yeah.

All systems shutting down? Pretty much.

Primary sensors kibitzing from the dizzying free-fall to the Earth's ever-looming-closer surface? Yea, got that going on.

Internal satisfaction that the annoying display before me had been obliterated? _Pit yes_.

I spent a second's consideration on whether or not it'd be safer to actually abandon the small shuttle I was in. However, my logics system overruled, telling me more damage would be done that way. My armor could withstand some heat, but that _that_ much.

The second over, I rapidly began to reconstruct the ship's wires; rerouting the power to various sections that hadn't been damaged during my…momentary instability. The work was nearly boring and was completed in only seconds. Some 'bots did governing, some weaponry, even others did medical. Me? I did electrical. I could reroute, rewire, re-anything—pretty much—in seconds. (Sometimes minutes. Depends on my mood.) However, I had one glitch…one _fatal_, in my opinion, glitch that not even I could figure out. And unfortunately, I currently knew of no one who could help. Well, at least no one I'd willingly go to.

An audio sensor splitting screech had me snapping my processor back to the controls before me. Genius I may be, but I could only do so much when all I had to work with was a pile of smoking half-melted junk (regardless that most of the fault lay with me to begin with). Thanking Primus I'd had the foresight to download as much information about the planet I was currently crashing into before I actually attempted this disastrous entry, I snapped all my armor into place, even my battle mask. With one last glance at all the _Danger you're about to OFFLINE you idiot!_ warnings laid out before me, I shut my optics and held on tight.

At one point, possibly during the whole 'there's a lot of heat, I don't know which way is up' portion of my entry into Earth's atmosphere, I did in fact temporary offline. At least I don't remember the actual shuttle-meet-Earth-bigBOOM-lotsofdirtgo_whee!_

My systems came back online in rapid succession, alerting me to the fact that nothing had been severely damaged in the crash. Rotating first one arm, then the other, followed by both legs, I slowly shuttered my optics on. _Undamaged my aft, _I thought darkly. My left optic would not power on. I lightly tapped on it, only to hiss in pain and jerk my hand back. With a low rumble, I did a systems check on my systems checker, only to find out that _that_ had been damaged. I groaned, realizing I would be unable to tell the true extent of my damages until either I managed to repair myself or someone else came along and did it for me.

If the latter, preferably an Autobot. When my right leg broke nearabouts in half after I applied light pressure to it, I amended myself. Preferably a _capable medbot_ Autobot.

Venting in frustration, I typed in the sequence to open the shuttle's cockpit so I could at least check out my surroundings, only to have an error beep back at me. I retyped it, my processors telling me I must have accidently hit a wrong key. _Error_. So I typed the same code in _again_ for the third time before it finally fully computed. I quickly rerouted the wires, manually overriding the system to open the shuttle that way. Silence greeted me. I did a scan on my reroute procedures only to find them flawless. The error lay elsewhere.

Venting so hard steam came pouring out out, I formed my trusty little blaster's BIG brother and shot a large hole in the shuttle's overhead. There was a _whoosh_ and then fresh air circled throughout the cabin, ushering away the smoke. I waited patiently for my vision to clear (I mean, what else was I supposed to do?), idling running my scans again to see if anything different popped up. Apparently my scans this time believed I had some minor wires loose along my back armor. I did a physical check, taking note that my armor was _fine_.

Moments later, I found myself staring up at a blue so dark it was nearly black with an unhindered view of thousands of stars. I have been to numerous planets and have seen many amazing sights but nothing could ever compare to the wondrous beauty of the midnight skies. So absorbed into the scene above me I failed to notice the small blips of energy making their ways towards me. In fact, it wasn't until they were nearly directly on top of me that I realized they were there. And so I panicked when a large metal head was suddenly thrust right in front of mine.

I admit that, too, wasn't one of my brighter moments.

Outnumbered, injured, and being on a strange planet and the first thing I do to my possible ally? _Shoot the slaggin' 'bot in the face._

Good thing my weapons systems had decided to take a crash or things could have turned ugly. No real damage had been done to the opposing 'bot; minor faceplate and helm dents and scratches. An inconvenience, nothing more.

Which was probably the only thing that saved my pretty metal hide.

The moment the small blast had gone off; seven pairs of various weapons were skillfully trained upon me. Luckily for me, no one returned my fire else I'd have a few more cooling valves.

The 'bot—well mech, as I could safely assume based on the facial features and tone of voice—was yelling and presumably cursing in a language other than Cybertronian, clutching at his still smoking faceplate. I attempted to run a scan to check which language he was speaking in when I found out that that as well had been damaged.

I inwardly groaned, cycling my cooling jets before fully taking in all the…_mechs_…around me. There were eight total, only the one I had blasted not currently pointing a weapon of mass destruction at me. Unfortunately it was too dark for me to make out their colors; but as I could barely see them, they too had trouble fully seeing me. Trying to stand up and failing horribly, however, got most of the 'bots to at least lower their weapons. And apparently there was a _dedicated_ medbot amongst them for he was suddenly shoving the other mechs aside. Instantly I felt scans being run on me and I cringed, knowing and yet not wanting to know what they'd tell the med. He spoke aloud to a very large mech next to him. I idly waited for my fate to be decided, routing and rerouting the wires on the shuttle's broken dashboard to ease my nerves. And then the big bot leaned down close towards me.

"Hold still and we will assist you out of there." His voice was a deep rumble, _extremely_ pleasing to listen to. He had also spoken in Cybertronian so I was able to understand.

"Not really much else for me to do," I muttered, but nodded my head in compliance to the mech.

But as I was a smaller 'bot and somewhat slim at that, and the fact that the shuttle had been formed comfortably around my size, it made it rather difficult for more than one 'bot to reach in and help pull me free from the wreckage. Eventually, the large mech simply lifted me out himself. I tried hard not to yelp when my right leg got jostled and even snagged on the rough edges of the impromptu opening. And to his credit, the large mech was trying to be gentle. It just wasn't all that easy to do when nearly half of the ship was entangled about me.

I was finally freed though, and as I was ever-so-gently set down (the big mech was helping to steady me on my one foot), everybot got a good look at each other. And then all those weapons that had been temporarily lowered were snapped back in my direction.

I vented (loudly, I might add) as I felt the grip on me tighten. _Oh, how wondrous this day has gone._

"Decepticon scum!" One of the mechs snarled in Cybertronian, for my benefit.

I glanced over at him, wondering if they'd give me time to explain or if they'd simply offline me.

I felt my fate decided as I heard one mech warming up his cannons. And then, much to the surprise of everyone, the smallest of the mechs darted forward. He was chirping, waving his arms around in the universal sign to wait. I sensed a familiar tug at my Spark looking at him. I knew the youngling, but from where I had no clue. He chirped again, motioning with his hands for all he remained vocally silent. Then it dawned on me that he must be using internal comms. The silent debate between the big 'bot and little 'bot seemed to last forever, but finally the large mech vented in submission. Turning to address the rest of the mechs, the large one spoke aloud.

"She will be coming with us." His tone brooked for no argument.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS, ONLY TITANIA.

The large mech picked me back up, gently still even though I was currently believed to be an enemy, and carried me over towards a large rectangular box looking thing. My scans actually worked when I tried to look something up, the results coming back quickly. I was being taken to a 'trailer'. Upon arrival at the 'back', I was carefully handed over to the medic who eased me inside before taking up point beside me. The smallest one (who turned out to be dark yellow and black in color thanks to the interior lighting—the medic was green and grey) joined us in the trailer; I assuming the others running guard on the outside. The ride was smooth and quiet, even though I found the little 'bot's constant staring a bit unnerving, and soon I was slipping into recharge.

When I next came online, I found myself in a typical med bay—nothing overly ominous or life-threatening nearby. I did a systems check out of habit, finding that that, at least, seemed to be working properly. The usual rotate arm, arm, leg, leg had me thinking either the medic was a downright _genius_ or I'd been out for a while. All systems were go, as it were, save for my poor left optic—that was still offline. A quick look around told me I was temporarily alone. Sitting upright, I pulled the somewhat broken files from my arrival, determined to figure out what language I'd been yelled at in.

_Let's see…oh, there is it. 'English' apparently. Now, to translate…_

"_**Slaggin' scrap metal junker jus' blasted mah face!"**__** There was some general laughter before the mech continued. "Pit tha' hurts. If we hafta offline 'em, **_**I'm**_** doin' it!"**_

_Oh, so I'm a 'slaggin' scrap metal junker' huh? Hmph, shoulda blasted him harder._

The sound of a door quietly sliding open had me jerking my optics in its direction. It was just the medic. From the surprised look on his face, it seemed as though I should not be online yet. Made me wonder just how damaged I had been. And then it quickly changed into a professional medical mask.

"You should not be up just yet." He walked towards me, turning one hand into a syringe. "Lay back down please." His words were in Cybertronian, as he was unaware I knew the English language now.

I did as asked since he asked it, thinking that as the syringe came closer my laying down was going to happen one way or another. "What is your name, kind medic?" I inquired politely, knowing far better than to piss off the 'bot with the medical knowledge to offline you in mere seconds.

My question came out in English so he was a bit taken aback. "…I have been designated 'Ratchet'. And yours, femme?" He had an interesting accent to his voice. Ratchet, curious to my reply but still too professional to be distracted, began running scans on me.

I chose my words carefully, absently rubbing one finger over the Decepticon symbol on my helm. "Most recently I have been given the name Titania."

Ratchet's optics snapped towards mine before dimming ever so slightly. _Internal communication, betcha. No doubt rallying in the troops._

"Titania…How…um…"

He was saved from trying to come up with an appropriate term by the opening of the door. A large red and blue 'bot—quite possibly the same one from last night—came striding in, the small amber mech right behind him. Obvious delight showed clear on the young mech's face while his larger counterpart had a look of slight consternation. Ratchet nodded in their direction, but dutifully continued his work on me.

Both 'bots came to a stand just out of Ratchet's way, waiting patiently for him to finish what he was working on and turn his attention to them. Amber kept peeking around Bigbot, waving or chirping every time he caught my optic.

"That is Optimus Prime and Bumblebee." Ratchet told me quietly, nodding to each mech respectively.

I processed that a second before quickly sitting up, much to Ratchet's dismay, and jabbing a finger towards the large mech. "Optimus Prime? So _you're_ the one who sent out that call to arms!" Ratchet firmly pushed me back down but I kept my arm raised. "That message you sent out probably saved my life. I came out of stasis just in time to avoid a collision with this galaxy's sun."

"_Ah, I was wondering about all those heat marks…"_ Ratchet muttered, grabbing my outstretched arm and setting it down at my side.

"You heard that?" Optimus asked, arms crossing over his chest as he shifted his weight evenly.

"Yes. This," I brought my arm up to my helm, tapping on the Decepticon symbol there, "is an unfortunate and unwanted addition." Ratchet grabbed my arm again, directing it back down on the table. "I _am_, however, one hundred percent Autobot." Optimus exchanged a look with Ratchet for a moment before turning back towards me. Venting, and feeling the need to further explain my case, I shifted slightly in Optimus' direction. "My last encounter with the Decepticons was within the city of Tyger Pax. I had been an electrical engineer then. I was only flying from one job to the next. Yes I knew that Tyger Pax was dangerous, but it wasn't there I was headed; it was the next city over. I only meant to conserve a few extra minutes, but I assume I had gotten too close.

"A stray missile locked onto my ship and I was shot down." My optic dimmed slightly as I pulled up the memory file of that day. "The mech with me was gone when I came online. I could hear someone approaching, but I was unable to move. Shuttle crashes and I don't mix." Ratchet snorted, but otherwise they all remained silent. "When the mechs came into view, I knew instantly they were Decepticons. And that I was in trouble. I could recognize Shockwave anywhere. He had wanted to offline me right then and there, but—luckily—his partner Fistfight stopped him. So they pulled me from the wreckage and brought me back to their base. I was given to Starscream to fix after Megatron approved keeping me. He did a…passable job at best. At least he got me to the point where I could tend to myself. However I felt obligated to return the favor."

"Favor? They meant to kill you, femme," Ratchet snorted again, leaning over me slightly to work on the far side of my torso.

"Yet they hadn't. And they even went so far as to attempt to return me to my original form. Decepticon or not, they had done well in my book. I had to pay them back. So I pledged temporary allegiance to them. All I did was fix their engineering problems, I swear to Primus. And then…" I paused, letting my cooling system run for a second before continuing. "One day they brought in a prisoner. A young Autobot. A scout, I believe they called him. I was walking near the room they were…interrogating…him in." I paused again, taking a deep breath at the memory. "I heard Starscream's voice, unhappy that it was. Curious, I stepped into the room. At that time, I hadn't realized they were _torturing_ the scout." Another pause, this time for a quick vent. One glance at the attending mechs and I knew I had their full attentions. "It took only seconds to understand what was going on. Shockwave, who was also in the room, quickly tried to usher me back out.

"I was having nothing of it. I was _furious_. I mean, I knew the Decepticons were the 'bad guys', but to stoop to such a low level…I had shorted Shockwave's main circuits before my processer could fully compute what I was doing. Then I jumped at Starscream and removed the power to his legs. I was nearly at the prisoner when someone wrapped a claw around my midsection. It wasn't until I heard the dark chuckling behind me that I realized it was _Megatron_ who had stopped me. Then, as Shockwave jerkily made his angry way over to me did I understand the depth of my action. I was certain I was going to be offlined this time around.

"So you can imagine my surprise when I was spared for the second time from Shockwave. Megatron, amused to my ministrations, ordered to return the power to Starscream's legs. Then, after making sure I was completely bound, handed me off to the furious Shockwave before ordering both of us from the room. Megatron stated he would deal with me personally, later. For now, I was to be kept in his quarters. Shockwave was to be my guard until Megatron could return. That was the quietest, longest, most nerve-wracking three joors of my life. The only thing that moved was an occasional twitch from Shockwave. His glare was burning holes—well _hole_—in my armor." I shuddered, thinking back on it. Ratchet used the momentary lull in my monolog to quickly weld something near my Spark compartment. I jumped at the sudden contact.

"Apologies," the medic stated, not wavering.

"Mm." Was my reply. I patiently waited for him to finish, considering the area he was working on was a bit sensitive. In only a matter of minutes I was right back into my monolog. "Now…oh yes. It was actually quite a relief when Megatron returned. I had only ever really _heard_ of Megatron, having little chance to interact with the mech. Shockwave, on the other hand, gave me slaggin' nightmares." I shuddered again, but kept going. "Anyways, Shockwave was dismissed and I was left alone with Megatron. He too was silent, but for less than half a breem. All I could do was wait for my punishment, whatever it may be. It came as little surprise when he asked me to join him. After all, I can disable just about anything in mere seconds. Can you just imagine the amount of damage I could do on the battlefield?"

"A valuable asset indeed." Optimus agreed, having not moved an _inch_ from his original stance. I was kind of envying him. Just a little.

"So were his thoughts. Hence I told him no. That I would rather he offline me right then and there than join him. He wasn't too pleased with my decision. _'We shall see,'_ he said. And then I was released under Shockwave's care once more. My punishment for short-circuiting Shockwave and Starscream being I had to be Shockwave's assistant for one orn. That in itself, honestly, wasn't that bad, if you didn't count all those blasted battles he forced me to partake in. It was just Shockwave had a bad habit of wanting to use _me_ for his experiments rather than those _meant_ for that purpose. More than once, Barricade, Blackout, even Soundwave and Starscream came in just in time to save me from a possibly fatal attempt. Anyways, about halfway through my punishment I learned of the scout's fate.

"Megatron, in an apparent fit of rage over the scout's silence, had ripped his vocalizer out. It was then I decided I had had enough. Waiting until my ever-watchful guard Shockwave fell into recharge, I slipped away. Thankfully, I had become such a regular sight and everyone knew I was assisting Shockwave that no one questioned my hurried manor. So, with little difficulty, I found myself inside the scout's holding cell. In a matter of seconds, I had the security videos running on a playback. A few more had the door unlocked. The mech inside was in pitiful shape. He was in a stasis shock. I rerouted some of his wires to get him back online, and then I directed some of my own Energon into him to make sure he made it out.

"I was going to create a diversion while he snuck out the back way. It was poor processing on my part to not have made sure Shockwave would stay in recharge. Luckily enough, however, it seemed the Autobots—you guys—decided to attack the base that same night. So while I myself failed to escape, I later heard that the scout had been successfully rescued. Of course when Shockwave learned of my involvement, he was _not_ pleased. I will tell you this right now—I am no fighter. I probably couldn't block a punch even if it was slow and my opponent told me it was coming. I work with _wires_ for Primus sakes! I had no chance at all whenever Shockwave came at me. And afterwards, he was none too gentle in dragging my glitching form to Megatron.

"'_One last time, Titania. Will you join with me, or will you stand alone?'_ Megatron's voice cut through to my spasmodic processor. I had just enough energy left to tell him 'Never in a thousand millennia will I _ever_ join you of my own accord.' Then I shut down in a forced offlining. When I came to, this fraggin' symbol was carved into my helm and almost all the Decepitons had left. When I questioned the remaining guards about it, he told me they'd all left after the AllSpark. Stupid slagger stood within easy reach. I disabled the door then offlined the mech in almost the same second. I downloaded a copy of base map (which had been denied to me till now) and hacked into Megatron's flight system. As soon as I found myself in the flight bay, I hijacked a shuttle and set its course to the exact same as Megatron."

"What made you follow Megatron, after all that had just happened?" Optimus asked, genuinely curious.

I did a quick vent, needed to cool my systems after the _long_ monolog I just laid out. "Simple. Wherever Megatron goes, so too does Shockwave. I sort of have a personal vendetta against that particular scrap metal junker."

Ratchet snorted out a chuckle. "I would be worried if you did not."

Optimus nodded. "After hearing that, it would be cruel of me to turn you away. You may stay with us. Unless you so choose otherwise."

"No," I was shaking my head in emphasis. "It would be my honor to stay here. Actually, I'd been happy just to know you weren't going to offline me."

That brought chuckling from all mechs, while Bumblebee started to chirp somewhat urgently. He kept pointing from me to him, up to his throat, then back at me. I could only stare at him in confusion. _Does he want me to reroute the wires there…?_

Ratchet, sensing my perplexed state, took it upon himself to explain. "Bumblebee just so happened to be that very same scout you so bravely helped to escape on Tyger Pax."


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS, ONLY TITANIA

I shot up just as my jaw dropped. "No _way_!" I looked from Optimus to Ratchet, then down to the little mech nodding his head so emphatically. "You…" And then I sagged, much to Ratchet's alarm. He and Optimus both jumped forward to catch my form before it could slide off the table I was on. "Oh thank Primus you're alright." I muttered before I let my optic shutter off and my body fall into blissful recharge.

I came online sometime later. Ratchet must have been one busy 'bot because I felt better than I had in ages. Even my left optic came online without a hitch. Based on the dimmed lighting, I assumed it was nighttime again; my medic probably in recharge somewhere. I was alone once more. With a quick glance around, I slid off the table, testing out Ratchet's repairing abilities. My legs held when I put my weight on them. Good sign. I took a rather unsteady step forward. Everything stayed together. Another step brought me to a second table in the room. Nothing of interest there so I kept going. And going.

I completed one circuit around the room. And then another. Getting all the kinks out of my system felt good. Just as I started to hop around and really get into a decent workout, the door slid open. It was Optimus who came in. He paused just as I was landing from a particularly large bounce.

"I see you are feeling better," Optimus stated, striding across the room to me.

"Yes, much. Your medic is quite good." I waited until the larger mech came to a halt. "I meant to ask this earlier, but what is with the bright color of your armor?"

"It is how we blend in here. This is not our planet, we live here in disguise."

"…You blend in by standing out? I learned that some of the natural habitants here liked things flashy but that's a bit…"

The deep rumble of Optimus' chuckle cut me short. "No, we take on an alternate form. Here, allow me to show you."

And so he did. Within moments a large vehicle (a quick internal search told me that his form was after a Peterbilt semi) stood rumbling before me.

"Okay, that's cool. I want one." Optimus returned to his bipedal form as I searched the internet for a suitable semi form. However, in no time I realized my current size would be unable to effectively transform into that of the large truck.

Optimus, probably seeing the look on my face, spoke up. "Most of the other Autobots your size have chosen the form of Earth cars. The other three femmes here have taken on the form of a motorcycle."

"Oh," I refined my search, looking up 'cars'. I was a bit dismayed when the search returned roughly 1,910,000,000 results. "What are Ratchet and Bumblebee's forms?"

"Ratchet takes on the form of what is called a 'Hummer H2'. Young Bumblebee is a 'Chevrolet Camaro'."

Nodding, I searched the internet for those. The Hummer I was not too fond of. The Camaro I liked. So I searched for cars of similar style. "How do you choose the color? Or do you?"

"Most times we simply copy the current color of the vehicle. You may choose otherwise, though."

"Mm," I continued looking—there were a _lot_—until I came across a car I liked. And then began my search for a color. Happy with my choices, I downloaded all the schematics and let my form change. The alt mode I had chosen was that of a 2011 Dodge Challenger. The color: Synergy Green. And then I enjoyed a few moments of simply transforming from my car mode to my bipedal form and back again. The only downside; it seemed that the Decepticon symbol was permanently engraved. As a Challenger, the symbol showed up on the cowl of my hood. "Do you think Ratchet would be able to remove that thing?" I asked Optimus, pointing to my helm as I returned to my feet.

"What am I removing?" Our topic of discussion walked. Ratchet walked in from a second door; my back being to him. I turned towards him, pointing still at the 'con symbol. He frowned, stepping in close to examine it. "It is possible. I'll look in to it later."

"Thank you. Oh, check this out." I shifted into my Challenger, posing for a few minutes before returning to bipedal mode. "Pretty cool, huh?"

Ratchet waved a hand in dismissal, doing a quick scan on me in the process. "Yes, yes. I don't like your Energon readings…is this normal for you?"

Pouting and crossing my arms across my chest, I did a scan of my own. "Yeah, pretty much. I generally run high. What time is it, by the way?"

"Four twenty-five in the morning, Earth time." Optimus answered me. He elaborated after seeing the confusion on my face. "It is quite early. Most others won't be online for another few hours yet."

"I see. Anything in particular I can do until then?"

"_Recharge some more,_" Ratchet muttered, checking over some of his work. I pretended not to hear him.

"I have prepared a data packet for you. It contains our rules here, as well as some names and faces of our allies. I would recommend you learn them." The wording sounded like an order, the tone like a suggestion.

I took it as the latter and did just that. After I downloaded the packet, Optimus and Ratchet both left with promises to return after the others had awakened. I uploaded part of the information, learning the names of my fellow 'bots on the planet. There were only a few. It was almost devastating just how few there were. Seriously, I spent more time learning the rules than names—human allies included. And then, just because I still had time and I was curious, I looked into more detail of this species called 'human'. Their diversity was astounding; their lack of communication between cities across the planet idiotic. It seemed to me that if everyone spoke at least one common language the whole race would be more productive. It worked well for us Cybertronians…at least until the two factions split and war destroyed our home.

But that was the engineer in me speaking. I didn't do politics. I wasn't much on rules, either, actually. One reason I was my own boss. No one to tell me what I could and couldn't do. I looked over the rules again, if only for a laugh, before deciding to thoroughly explore the med bay I was in. And then, just because I could, I opened the door (not the one Ratchet had come in earlier). Checking both left and right, I slipped out. The halls were quiet, no one around. Just as I rounded a corner, there seemed to be a loud explosion of sound. Curiosity got the better of me, so I made my way towards it.

Creeping forward slowly, I peeked around the corner. In the room before me lay a large projection screen. Small bipedal creatures were scurrying all around. It was a scene of bustling activity. It seemed that the more I looked on, the more humans entered the room from a small door on the far side. No one appeared to really notice me staring at them until I stepped farther into the room. Then, one person got a good look at my helm and all of Pit broke loose.

There was a cry of '_Decepticon!_', and then every—not one or two or three—but _all_ humans dropped what they were doing, spun in the general direction that was me, and whipped up various sized guns. The human weapons I wasn't too concerned about, it was the sudden blaring of an alarm and most of the Autobots rolling in weapons hot that had me worried. _Where's Optimus or Ratchet when I need them?_ I thought, raising my arms high in the universal sign of unarmed. Just as a large black mech—who I recognized as the one called Ironhide and just so happened to be the mech I had shot on my arrival—was warming up his cannons, Optimus rolled in.

"Autobots, stand down. This is no Decepticon." He commanded.

_Thank you Primus! And thank you, too, Optimus._

"You're telling us that _that_ is no Decepti-scum?" Ironhide asked, pointing his cannon quite accurately in my direction.

"No. She is our new ally…" _Please don't mention I'm the one that shot him!_ "It is an unfortunate accident that lead to her having that mark."

"Yeah, what he said. I'm Autobot all the way." I was sidling closer to Optimus as I spoke, just in case someone got a little gun-happy.

"I have also just repaired some serious damage. I will not tolerate any one who makes me repair what I have already fixed." Ratchet added, coming to a stand on my left, looking pointed at a certain black mech.

"Yeah, yeah." At least he put his cannon away.

"And you," I jumped as Ratchet rounded on me. "Why are you out here without permission? I have _not_ cleared you to leave the med bay yet."

"O-oh…um…I was bored…?" This garnered a few snickers from some of the Autobots. I spared them a quick glance.

Ratchet produced a wrench came from seemingly nowhere, sticking it right in my face. "You, back to the med bay. Now."

"But, Ratchet, I don't _wanna_." Yes, I was whining. But in all honesty, I really didn't want to go back. There was nothing to do there. I wanted to be up and about, learning firsthand about my new world.

Ratchet and I stared off for a few minutes, everybody in the room watching us (I would learn later that most Autobots didn't argue with the medic, much less whine). Then Ratchet vented softly, reaching one hand up to rub at his optics.

"At least come back long enough for me to clear you." The larger mech caved.

"Deal." I almost skipped to the medic's side as we both turned to head towards the med room. "I'll even try to avoid strenuous activity for a while." I looked over at the others. "Be right back."

A few of the 'bots nodded, even waved as I walked off. Ratchet and I made our way to his work station where he did his promised last check. He told me everything was 'adequate' and that he would permanently offline me if I had to return because I overworked myself.

"You are seriously the best medic, Ratchet. If you ever need any help with anything, please don't hesitate to ask me. Regardless of what it is." I gave the medic a brief hug because I could and then I darted out the room. I did glance back in time to see him school his startled features into a stoic mask.

Grinning, I hurried back to where I had left the other Autobots. Despite the fact they were all ready to blast me only moments before, I was eager to meet them. However, only a few of the 'bots were in the room I'd left them in. Disappointed, I plodded over to Optimus. He was in conversation with a human—Major William Lennox, my search informed me—as I came to a quiet halt next to him.

"You sure this time?" The Major asked with a barely perceptible nod in my direction.

"Yes," came Optimus' reply, successfully ending their discussion. The Major dipped his head to both of us before heading off.

I was curious, but felt it unwise to pursue the matter. Instead, I asked of the whereabouts of the others.

"They have moved to an area more suited to our larger size. This room here is mostly used by the humans—we rarely come in here." Optimus had started walking as he spoke, forcing me to tag along if I wanted to hear his words.

"So, all the humans here know of our presence here, but the rest of their population does not?" I asked, walking somewhat quickly to keep up with Optimus' larger strides.

"To a degree. Yes all the humans here on the base know of us, but there are also others outside of here that know of us as well. They are not many and they have special privileges. You may meet some as a few come and go from here often. However, unless given authorization to do otherwise, should you ever leave the base for whatever reason, you _must_ remain in your vehicle—"

"Challenger." I interjected automatically. I almost immediately offered him an apologetic smile.

"—mode. And you must always have a holographic image of a human driver while in vehicle—"

"Challenger."

"—mode." Optimus finished, giving me a rather amused look.

"I see…I think." I was silent for a moment as I processed what all he just told me, some parts of his speech bringing forth a file or two from the rules list he'd given me previously. Based on that, I would probably need some help in creating a holograph.

Optimus came to a halt next to a large door. "Here is where most of us spend our downtime. I will warn you…it can get a little rowdy at times."

Entering a code, the door slid open with a quiet _swoosh_. My audio sensors were suddenly bombarded with a chaotic mesh of multiple conversations and various sounds. There was even the metallic clanging of a couple of Autobots duking it out with each other. My optics could barely keep up. A few of the 'bots glanced over at our arrival but for the most part they remained undisturbed. Two of them—a Sideswipe and Sunstreaker—came over.

"Hiya," both 'bots chorused, sliding to a halt a few feet away.

While I returned their greeting, Optimus gave them a skeptical look.

"If you need someone to show you around, we'd be more than willing to help." Sunstreaker said with Sideswipe nodding in agreement.

"Well, yes, I probably will. I can't very well take up all of Optimus' time, so thank you." I smiled at them, genuinely thrilled that they were willing to help.

"Titania, I don't think—" Optimus started only to have Sideswipe cut him off.

"Now, now Bossbot, you're a very busy mech. We'll take it from here so you can go back to your duties."

The silver and yellow mechs each grabbed one of my arms, pulling me away from 'Bossbot', as they called him, before he had a chance to finish his sentence. I'd have to store that one away for later use. When I glanced back to tell Optimus thank you and good-bye, I caught a look of dismay on the large 'bot's face. Either I was in for some serious trouble or—hopefully—some serious fun. If I had processed that file correctly, Optimus had labeled these two as one: the Major Twins, and two: avoid prolonged encounters with.

"Did the boss tell you all our names?" Sunstreaker asked as they continued to almost drag me into the room. When I muttered a yes, both mechs got mischievous grins on their faces. "Good, so we don't have to waste time with intros. Now, since you obviously have an alt. mode, what else do you need?"

"I, um, don't have my holograph yet…"

"Perfect!" The Twins chimed, altering their course and dragging me out another door. It was all I could do to keep up with them.

_What in the world have I gotten myself into?_ Was my last thought before the door slide shut behind me.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the delay. College started on the 2nd for me, just now getting completely settled again. Hope you enjoy.

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><p>"Are you sure? I mean, human femmes actually go out looking like this?" I turned my holographic body around, trying to see it from every aspect.<p>

"Oh, yes." Sideswipe replied, occupied with putting the finishing touches on.

"Yeah, don't worry. It looks great. You'll blend in as if you've been here all your life." Sunstreaker added, taking a step back to admire their handiwork.

"I just feel, I don't know…under clothed? And what about those femmes we passed earlier? They were in different attire." I was still unsure. Though if I wanted to be honest, the holograph human looked pretty good.

"Army fatigues. You're a civilian holo or you'd attract too much attention." This statement was followed by a choked off snicker from Sideswipe. Sunstreaker gave his twin a mild glare before continuing. "We're all about the blend in here. See?" Sunstreaker activated his holo—a fine-featured blonde man wearing nothing but a pair of shorts.

"Civilian attire for the men and women are different." Sideswipe added helpfully. It took me a second to recall that the humans identified themselves differently than we did. Men were mechs, women femmes.

"Oh," was all I replied with, now playing with the range of motion my holo had.

"I would keep your holo activated for a while so you can get used to it." Sideswipe told me, giving a smile.

Sunstreaker was nodding. "I agree. You'll look more natural later if you do. Wouldn't want to have to activate it in a hurry later and have people freak out because you look weird. Some humans around here are, um…skittish."

I gave them both a skeptical look but said nothing. Instead, I moved my holo around some more. Sunstreaker kept his out, moving it alongside mine so I could copy the fluid motions.

An hour later, we were still playing with our holos—Sideswipe had brought his out shortly after it became apparent we'd be at it for a while. Neither mech seemed to mind the amount of time I was taking from them, for which I was rather grateful. Afterward, when they both agreed my holograph looked and moved like a regular human, we all stored our holos away and they gave me the grand tour of the base. All in all, they were nothing like I originally feared. In ways, it was disappointing.

The 'bots and humans we passed were introduced seeing as how while I knew who they were (after a brief search), they knew me not. Most were nice, some didn't care, and one or two were downright glitches. I reorganized my internal memory banks into two categories afterwards—_glitches-avoid_ and _non-glitch-interact_. But as the day came to a close and my Energon levels started to rapidly decrease, one thing I noticed they hadn't showed me yet was where I'd be staying. And while yes, I liked Ratchet and all and hanging out in the med bay was somewhat convenient at times, that's not where I wanted to, you know, _live._

But as I was the newcomer and technically not a soldier at that, I was unsure as to how to breach the subject with them. And they, whether knowingly or not, didn't tell me.

Eventually we returned to the room I'd met them in. There were fewer Autobots and more humans in there now. The 'bots mostly ignored me, the humans kept one eye out. The mixed signal I was getting was a bit frustrating. I mean yeah I had the 'con symbol on my helm but I wasn't an _enemy_. And so what if I _could_ reroute the whole base and crash most of the Autobots in mere seconds? Doesn't mean I _will_.

The Major Twins left me near the door, making their way over to the Minor Twins—Skids and Mudflap. They immediately started in on a topic I had no clue about which effectively shut me out. Actually, now that I was looking around, everybody was deep in conversation. Feeling the odd 'bot out, or the third wheel as the human's saying went, I slowly made my way back to the med room. If nothing else, I'd at least have a place to recharge there. But as I neared the bay, I could hear someone on the other side of the door. Activating my thermal scans, I saw Ratchet inside working almost furiously on a 'bot.

Venting quietly, I turned back around. There's no way I could recharge in there while Ratchet needed all the space he had to work. I went outside, the sun in the process of setting. I watched that large ball of gas until it went out of sight before I changed into my alt mode. I rolled into what looked like an unused section of the grounds. I entered recharge just as the low rumble of distant thunder could be heard.

Only a few hours later, an extremely loud crash startled me online. I did a jumping transformation, going from car mode to bipedal form near instantaneously. I had a blaster formed on one hand before I even registered it was still dark out. And then seconds after that, I could feel something cold and slippery running down my armor. When I calmed down a little, I realized that the cold stuff was rain and that the crash was not Soundwave come to get me (he wasn't always quiet and sneaky in his attempts for experimentation) but thunder. Sub-spacing my gun away, I did a quick scan of the area. It was still abandoned, only being around one-thirty in the morning Earth time.

I vented quietly, slowly transforming back into a Challenger. I shivered slightly in the cold—while warm during the day, it had drastically cooled off from the nightly storm. Ratchet would probably have something to say about my spending the night out in the rain. But if it was going to be that big of a deal, then they should have had a proper place for me, yes?

Without warning, another extremely loud clap of thunder boomed overhead, making me jump. There was a blinding flash of lightning before—if possible—even more rain started to descend from the skies. I huddled down as far as I could, tucking myself as close as possible to the side of the building. I darkly imagined the other 'bots recharging shamelessly inside, all nice and dry and whatnot. Another crash, another jump. At this rate, not only would I get no viable recharge in, but I was apt to blow something up as well. Scanning the weather systems, I vented dejectedly when I learned the storm was likely to continue on until well into the later afternoon.

Hopefully someone would remember me…and _soon_.

Moments before I started to seriously consider forcing myself into a temporary offline for the safety of the base, a semi-bright light came from seemingly nowhere and right in front of me. So of course I jumped. And I can only imagine how a car would look like jumping at least two feet straight up into the air.

"A…uo….ight?" Even for my superior audio receptors, it was hard to distinguish the low-toned voice from the massive downpour of rain.

It was harder still to pinpoint exactly _where_ the voice was coming from—light or no light. Eventually though, after turning my headlights on to illuminate the surrounding area, I found the small form of Major Lennox. The man was hunched over, wearing a shiny top and hat. He was holding a bright light high in his left hand.

For all my lack of overall human knowledge, I knew that the majority of beings disliked being wet. So without much thought, I opened one door for the Major. He hopped in with no hesitation. He even mumbled a thank-you in the process. I shut the door for him and turned on the heater as he sat there shivering. Considering I was already wet on the outside, I minded not the small amounts of water dripping off my passenger.

"Titania, right? What are you doing out here?"

_Same could be asked of you,_ I thought, but refrained from saying. Instead I replied with the truth. "I was not shown to where I would recharge, so I was trying to find a place so I wouldn't be in the way. This storm was…a surprise."

I thought I heard him mutter a _you're-telling-me_, but I couldn't say for sure. He sat there in silence for a while, letting off a shiver every now and then. I turned the heater up more, hoping to relieve him of the cold. A few minutes later, he seemed to remember he was dripping water everywhere.

"Ah, sorry…" He attempted to open the door so he could step back out, but I held it shut.

"I mind not. I do not get chilled as you might, so it is of little consequence. Please, if you require more heat, you have but to ask." I was being polite and formal with the human, having had him identified in my data packet as a man of great importance and overall a very good mutual friend of the Autobots.

"Thanks, but I'm good." We fell silent once more, Will turning his focus to a small hand-held device (cell phone, scan told me), until a very loud—seemingly very close—crack of thunder had both of us jumping. Will gave off a weak chuckle before turning to me. "How 'bout we go inside and try to find you a place to stay? I'm thinking anywhere is better than this…" He made a wild gesture out my windshield.

Considering visibility was currently at zero, I had to agree. So, with my lights on bright, I slowly made my way forward, carefully recalling where what was from my memory processors. It was _not_ that easy of a task. We finally made it back inside though, the torrential downpour outside almost instantly creating a small lake in the ten seconds it took me to open the door, get in, and shut it. Once inside, I finally allowed the Major to exit my form before I changed into my bipedal mode. Just as I was discretely trying to dry my innards out, heavy footfalls sounded up the way. Turning my optics, I saw Optimus coming towards us, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe in tow.

"You have my apologies; I did not realize _these _two had not shown you to your place." Optimus called out, indicating 'these two' with a jerk of his helm.

"It wasn't ready yet," Sideswipe started, looking anywhere but at me.

"Yeah, and besides, we're not allowed near the femme's area anymore. Prowl's orders." Sunstreaker finished, arms crossed over his chest, optics also darting away.

Optimus vented but conceded their point. "…Very well. I shall show you your quarters then, Titania. If you will?" He gestured down the hallway he'd come from, waiting until I had moved beside him before turning to lead.

Falling in step with the larger 'bot, I turned slightly back to Will. "Have a pleasant evening, Major. It was quite relaxing having a talk with you."

"Same here. 'Night, guys."

I watched Will until he turned a corner and was lost from view. With a soft vent, I turned my optics back towards the fore. Optimus lead me down two corridors before coming to a halt outside a large door.

"The femme Arcee has agreed to share quarters with you. I believe she is already inside." He paused, seemingly debating with himself over something. "I shall leave you here. Again, I apologize for not having shown you this earlier. Have a pleasant night, Titania."

With that, Optimus left, striding quickly down the hall. I watched him for a second before turning to the door. Optimus had not told me the code to open the door. Not a problem for me, but it would be inconvenient for anybot else. In nano-seconds I had the door sliding open. It was dark and quiet inside, an almost inaudible hum coming from one corner. A quick scan told me that it was Arcee recharging. Soundlessly, I made my way over to the unoccupied corner, finding an Autobot-sized bed there. With a hushed vent, I laid down, optics shuttering off, internal systems slipping into recharge.

I had almost offlined when the sirens overhead blared off.

**END**


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